Shifty and Lifty, Raccoon Detectives: Ravenhearst Manor
by Alphonse Elric's Lover
Summary: Shifty and Lifty gave up their lives of thievery and became detectives of Happy Tree Town. Will they be able to make it through their first assignment, or become victim to the one who haunts the Ravenhearst Manor?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Mission Begins

The day was young in Happy Tree Town. Twin green raccoon brothers, Shifty and Lifty, were on their way to visit some of their forest-dwelling pals at the Editing Survice Office. It was a happy day for these brothers, because they, usually thieves in this small town, gave up their life of thievery to get a real job. The others, after being informed by these great news, were having a party to congratulate the used to be outlaws. As the two entered the office, they were happily greeted by the surprise party meant for them.

"SURPRISE! Congratulations Shifty and Lifty." All the little forest critters cried.

"Aw, thanks everyone." Shifty thanked them.

Suddenly, Shifty and Lifty were pounced on by a yellow green squirrel, covered with candies.

"Did you get the job?" He asked hyperly. "Did you, did you, did you?"

"Take it easy Nutty!" The raccoons laughed.

"And yes, we did." Lifty answered.

"HURRAY!" Everyone shouted.

"Yes it's true." Shifty nodded. "You're looking at what used to be the greatest thieves in Happy Tree Town, now the greatest detectives in Happy Tree Town."

"That's great!" A pink chipmunk cried out.

"Thanks Giggles." The twins nodded at her.

"So, when do you start?" A blue skunk asked, handing them each a piece of victory cake.

"Surprisingly, Petunia." Shifty said to her. "We start tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Everybody was shocked.

"Yes." Lifty nodded. "Apparently, there's this haunted mansion called Ravenhearst Manor."

"A girl detective, Crystal, already started the mystery." Shifty continued. "But sadly, she was unable to finish the job before retiring from her detective duties."

"So the authorities passed the job down to us." Lifty ended.

"Wow, a haunted manor!" An ant-eater cried out in delight. "Ain't it exciting Flaky?"

"Uh, I guess so, Sniffles." Said the shy red porcipine.

"We better fuel up Lifty." Shifty assured his brother, taking a bite out of his cake.

"You're right Shifty, adventure starts tomorrow." Lifty nodded, also taking a bite from his cake.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: On Their Way

The next day, Shifty and Lifty, with some help from their friends, were getting ready to head for the Ravenhearst Manor.

"Do you have everything you need?" Giggles asked.

"I think so." Shifty looked through their carrier bag.

"Here." Sniffles handed Shifty a journel.

"What's this for?" Shifty asked.

"It's a Case File." Sniffles explained. "You'll be able to write down what you find inside. You never know when something could be important."

"Wow, thanks Sniffles." Shifty nodded at the ant-eater.

"Here, you might need this too." A light blue moose handed Lifty and small computer with a VCR slot.

"What is this Lumpy?" Lifty asked.

"It's a Crime Computer." Lumpy explained. "It allows you to see what's on the video tapes you find. You never know when that will come in handy."

"Gee, thanks Lumpy." Lifty smiled. "This will really come in handy."

"Come on Lifty." Shifty placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "We better get going if we want to be there before dark."

"Right." Lifty nodded. "Let's go."

"GOOD-BYE!" Everybody called to them as the raccoon brothers drove away.

After a few hours, Shifty and Lifty finally arrived at the Ravenhearst Manor. How lucky were they to arrive just when the sun went down.

"Well, we tried to get here before dark." Shifty shrugged.

"Look on the bright side brother. At least it's not raining." Lifty laughed.

Suddenly, they heard thunder, then after the thunder, rain started to come down.

"I spoke too soon." Lifty groaned.

Shifty laughed and got out of the car, Lifty did the same and they went to the gate of the Manor. Lifty tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Locked." Lifty turned to Shifty. "What do we do?"

"Let's see if we can find a key or something." Shifty suggested.

"There might be a key hidden in those bushes." Lifty pointed. "Let's have a look."

The boys looked through the bushes. They looked and they looked, but they did not find a key. What they did find, was a wrench.

"No key, but this wrench might come in handy." Lifty picked up the wrench.

"Check and see if the wrench will work on that plaque." Shifty pointed. "There might be a key hidden behind it."

Lifty did as he was told, but it didn't work.

"Doesn't work." Lifty shook his head.

"Hey!" Shifty suddenly cried out. "The plaque has numbers scratched on it."

"Those numbers might be important."

"You're right, better write this down in my Case File."

With that, Shifty took out his new Case File and a pen and started writing.

"A rusty plaque outside the Ravenhearst Manor gates denotes a benign outset to a twisted love story. Once a beautiful place, this estate was created by some guy by the name of Charles, to show his affection toward a woman named Emma. Was his unrequited love the source of what the authorities say, his madness? I've made note of the strange series of numbers scratched into the metal. My knowledge of Latin limits my understanding of the bottom text, but I believe it is something about life after death... Mundus Vult Decipi, Ergo Decipiatur! Remember! 8 16 18 36 38 (3) 78."

With that, Shifty used his camera to take a picture of the plaque. He pasted the picture on the page and closed the book.

"Hey Shifty!" Lifty cried out.

"What is it Lifty?" Shifty asked.

"I think I found the purpose of this wrench." Lifty pointed to the bolts of the speaker next to the gate. "The key might be in here."

"Well, don't just sit there. Onward my brother."

Lifty laughed and took the bolts off the speaker. When they took the cover off, they found four wires that were not hooked up.

"Hook up the wires right, press the button and a key will come out." Lifty guessed. "Does that sound right?"

"Can't hurt to try." Shifty shrugged.

"Ok." Lifty grabbed the blue wire. "This should be easy, it says it goes at 2,2. I'll just plug it in right there."

"Good Lifty, now where does the green one go?" Shifty asked.

"4,1."

"Try plugging it down 4 and over 1."

"Ok, this next one, the orange one, goes at 1,3."

"Try going over 3 and down 1."

"This last one goes at 2,1."

"Over 2, down 1."

Lifty plugged in the last wire and pressed the button. Nothing happened.

"Try the last 3 the other way." Shifty suggested.

Lifty did and pressed the button, still nothing.

"You try Shifty." Lifty stepped away, letting his brother take control.

Once again, Shifty rearrange the wires. Again and again he rearranged.

"Gee, this is hard." Shifty commented. "Maybe if I try it this way."

One last time, Shifty rearranged and pressed the button. PRESTO! A key came out.

"Well done brother!" Lifty cried. "Now we can get in."

The boys put the key in the keyhole and turned the handle. The gates opened and they both cheered. They delight, however, was interupted by the ghost of a female bat.

"Thank you for coming to this onimous place." She said. "While my soul is free thanks to Detective Crystal, there are others that need your assistant. You must hurry before he returns. And I must warn you two, you are in grave danger... Come with me."

With that, she dissapeared into the Manor's yard, leaving a shocked Shifty and Lifty.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: In The Manor's Yard

"That was freaky." Lifty commented. "Do you suppose that was Emma?"

"Probably." Shifty nodded. "Better write this down."

Once again, Shifty began to write.

"Me and my brother have successfully made first contact with the supernatural! After unlocking the manor gates, we were visisted by the ghostly spirit of what we think of Emma Ravenhearst. She explained how Detective Crystal have freed her, and warned us of great danger and mentioned something of additional souls bound within the house! She related few details, but there must be much more to Ravenhearst Manor than Crystal's initial investigation revealed..."

"Come on! Let's go Shifty!" Lifty ran into the yard.

"Wait! Lifty!" Shifty put his Case File away. "Wait for me!"

The boys ran up to the front of the house.

"Nice place." Lifty looked around.

"If it weren't all boarded up." Shifty added.

They looked down to see a black cat. In it's paws, was a key.

"That key might be important." Shifty whispered.

"I'd rather not be a blood donor." Lifty shook his head. "Maybe if we gave it something else to play with."

"Good idea, let's see what we can find."

The boys looked around the door, but all's they could find was a typewriter key.

"Nothing." Lifty shook his head.

"But the typewriter key may come in handy." Shifty put it in his pocket. "Just in case."

"I'm not going to question you."

"But I think we also found something that I should write down."

Shifty pulled out his Case File and started writing.

"With good reason, a condemned notice appears nailed to the front entrance of the manor. The house is all boarded up, so our first order of business should be to find a way inside. As we search the various nooks and crannies, we must be watchful for clues or items that might come to be helpful in our investigation. Is it my imagination, or am I hearing voices? Probably all in my head. ((=Z A strange inscription was jotted on a note near the door."

With that, Shifty pasted a picture of the door and closed the book.

"It's not your imagination." Lifty shook his head.

"What?" Shifty asked.

"The voices. It's not your imagination, I hear them too."

"Well anyway, let's see if we can find anything in that trunk over there." Shifty pointed.

They went to the trunk and searched. They found many things, but there was only one thing that Shifty found useful.

"The brick might come in handy." Shifty said to Lifty.

"Oh! I get it!" Lifty nodded. "We'll use the brick to break open a window, and we'll climb in."

"Exactly! But first, we need to take the boards off."

Shifty pulled out his book and started writing.

"The house appears dilapidated and completely vacant. The rotting floorboards on the porch must be walked upon with great caution for fear of falling through and breaking our necks. Doors and windows are boarded up and the neglected roof offers little protection from the storm. I caught a glimpse of something shiny beneath one loose floorboard... We must remember to keep our eyes peeled for clues that might be lying about."

"Come think of it, I also saw something shiny in the bird's nest on top of the house." Shifty closed the book.

"Well there's a ladder right there." Lifty pointed. "We could use that."

"Good idea."

They took the ladder and putted it up to the house. When Shifty climbed up, all he found was a bunch of eggs, until his eyes found something else.

"What is it?" Lifty called from below.

"It's a creepy eye. But I think it might go to some sort of secret door." Shifty took the eye and putted it in his pocket.

"While you were up there, I saw a window that didn't have any boards on it." Lifty explained as Shifty climbed down. "We can use the brick on it."

"Good idea Lifty."

The boys ran to window that Lifty found. Shifty took ahold of the brick and banged it against the glass. It took him three tries, but he finally broke the window and they climbed in.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Finding A Way Into The Kitchen

"We had little choice but to use an old brick we found to make our way into the house. Just when I thought no one would notice a broken window, we come to view a recently stirred fire in the living room! We are certaintly not alone in this place, be the other party living or otherwise. Someone has attatched a bizarre creation to the door that bars our entrance to what, as I recall, is the kitchen. I have seen the like of these strange devices before and can attest to their intricacy of design."

With that, Shifty pasted a picture of the fire, added "Who stoked the fire?", and closed the book.

"Check it out Shifty." Lifty called to his brother.

"What?" Shifty asked.

"It's like some sort of puzzle to a secret passage in the fireplace."

Shifty took a look and nodded.

"You're right, Lifty. There's a hole for a moon charm, and a sun charm."

Lifty looked around the living room and found something under the couch.

"Look Shifty!" Lifty pointed. "A crowbar."

"Good, we can use it to lift up that loose floorboard." Shifty nodded.

"Let's go." Lifty picked up the crowbar and went outside to the porch.

Shifty used the crowbar on the loose board and they both pulled it off. Inside, was another creepy eye.

"These creepy eyes must go to the kitchen door." Shifty putted the eye in his pocket with the other one.

"Do you suppose we'll find another creepy eye in the trunk?" Lifty asked.

"I didn't see one, but we could look."

With that, they went to the trunk again. They didn't find a creepy eye, but they did find a manchine belt.

"We should keep this." Lifty folded it up as best as he could and putted it in his pocket. "Just in case."

"Right." Shifty nodded.

"Let's go into the garden and see what we can find."

They ran to the garden, only to see another locked door.

"Another locked door!?" Lifty cried.

"Better get used to it, Lifty." Shifty said to him. "This is what being a detective is all about."

"Look brother!" Lifty pointed. "That statue of Emma has a necklace with a moon charm."

"We need that moon charm! For the secret passage." Shifty nodded. "Let's get it."

"I'll get it." Lifty volunteered.

As Lifty reached for the moon charm, the head of the statue turned to him.

"GRACIOUS!" Lifty shriek and jumped away.

"Only if you bring me the dark flower that bears her name." The statue said, before returning to it's natural form.

"Dark flower?" Shifty said in confusion.

"She must be talking about the dead flower in that hanging flowerpot by the trunk."

"That flower is filled with thorns."

"And it's hard to pull off."

"We'll need clippers and gloves. Let's see if we can find any."

They looked around the entrance to the garden. As they looked, they found another creepy eye.

"We found all three creepy eyes." Lifty exclaimed.

"Let's go get the door to the kitchen open." Shifty suggested. "We'll come back for the moon charm later."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Getting Into The Garden

Shifty and Lifty placed the creepy eyes on the door and turned the handles. It was really easy, and they were in the kitchen with no time at all.

"After unlocking the door to the kitchen our nostrils are assualted with the reek of aging provisions left about to rot. No point checking the food safety expiration in here, that's for sure! Amid the dust and debris resides an old stove that has been tightly secured. Perhaps as insurance against preparing any delightfully putrid snacks? *As I write this entry I could have sworn I heard footsteps on the porch outside!"

With that, Shifty closed the Case File and went back to work. He turned to Lifty and was shocked to see him breathing heavily through his nose and keeping a hand over his mouth. He looked like he was either trying to keep himself from screaming or throwing up.

"Lifty, are you ok?" Shifty asked, concern.

Lifty shook his head and pointed to the window. Shifty looked at the window, confused at first, until he saw a figure pass the window.

"Gracious!" Shifty softly cried.

Shifty took a few deep breaths before calming down. He turned to Lifty, who still had the look of fear in his eyes.

"It's ok Lifty." Shifty comforted him. "That thing's not gonna do anything. Come on, we have work to do."

Lifty nodded and they both went looking around the kitchen.

"Look brother!" Lifty cried out. "I found lawn shears. We can use it to get the dark flower for the statue."

"Great, and I found cheese." Shifty held up a slice of cheese.

"What are we going to do with cheese?" Lifty asked in confusion.

"There's a mousehole outside." Shifty explained. "Bait the mousehole, get the mouse, give it to the cat, get the key from the cat."

"You... you GENIOUS!" Lifty laughed.

"Aren't I?" Shifty agreed and they both went outside.

Once outside, Shifty placed the cheese in front of the mousehole. Just as Shifty planned it, the mouse came out of his mousehole and Shifty grabbed it.

"Got it!" He cried, watching the mouse struggle to get his tail out of Shifty's grip.

"Great! Let's give it to the cat."

Shifty carefully placed the mouse in front of the cat. The cat took her paws off the key and pounced on the mouse. Shifty grabbed the key and went back to Lifty.

"Got it."

"Great," Lifty nodded. "Where do you think it goes to?"

"Let's try back in the kitchen. The lock on the stove."

The boys went back into the kitchen and tried the lock on the stove. It opened and inside, was a shabby glove.

"Great, now we can give the flower to the statue to get the moon charm." Lifty cried in delight.

Shifty was happy too, then, something near the sink caught his attention.

"Hey Lifty. Do you think this damp cloth will come in handy?" He asked his brother.

"Right now Shifty, anything can come in handy." Lifty answered.

"Yeah, you're right." Shifty nodded and putted the cloth in his pocket.

Something behind a piece of paper got Lifty's attention. He pulled the paper off and was astonished to find a drawing of the lock on the garden gate.

"Shifty, look." Lifty called to his brother.

Shifty looked at the drawing and pulled out his Case File.

"Lifty uncovered a rather unusual figure etched into the side of a rotting cupboard in the kitchen. Hidden behind an old recipe is what looks to be some kind of birdman striking a decidedly awkward pose. Relevant information or supernatural graffiti? The reek of rotting food in the kitchen is almost unbearable. It's difficult to hold our noses and properly inspect the many cupboards without gagging. Just horrible!"

With that, Shifty pasted a picture of the drawing and closed the book.

"Come on. We better go." Lifty started to leave.

"Yeah, right behind you." Shifty followed.

The boys went outside and to the hanging flowerpot. Lifty used the lawn shears to snip the dark rose off it's stem, then used the glove to pick it up.

"Now let's go give it to the statue." Lifty suggested and they went to the garden gate again.

Once they placed the rose in the hands of the statue, the moon charm started to glow. With caution, Shifty carefully grabbed it and putted it in his pocket.

"That was easy." Lifty commented.

"Yeah. It sure was." Shifty nodded.

Lifty looked towards the gate and noticed something on the ground.

"Hey Shifty, was that horn there before?" He asked.

"I don't know. But let's take it just in case we need to scare something away." Shifty suggested.

"We can't carry that thing in our pockets!"

"That's why we have the carrier bag."

Shifty took the horn and putted it in the carrier bag. Then the two raccoons looked at the lock on the garden gate.

"Now, what did that drawing look like?" Lifty tried to remember.

"I have the picture in my book." Shifty took out the Case File and turned to the page of the drawing.

Copying the drawing in the picture, Lifty moved the figure's arms and legs on the lock. DING! They were in. They laughed their signiture laugh and went inside the garden.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Getting Down The Secret Passage

The twin raccoons went into the garden and looked around.

"So pretty." Lifty commented.

Shifty nodded in agreement and looked down at the ground. This is when he noticed to X.

"Look Lifty!"

"X marks the spot." Lifty nodded when he noticed.

"Do you think there's something important down there?" Shifty asked.

"We'll never know until we find a shovel."

"Well, let's go deeper into the garden and found one."

The boys went deeper in the garden. When they did, they found a shocking discovery.

"I think you should write this in your Case File, Shifty." Lifty suggested.

"I think you're right, Lifty." Shifty nodded and pulled out his Case File.

"We came upon a creepy old graveyard in the rear of the manor and searched diligently for clues. Noted here is reference to a strange inscription on one of the ancient headstones that jut from the ground near the cliffs. *=? Something caught my eye in the shrubbery, but the overgrowth prevented closer inspection. Ah! We also noticed a small guest cottage that appears within close proximity to the Ravenhearst Manor estate. Steep, rocky stairs lead up to the cottage but we have no idea how to get down there... very muddy!"

With that, Shifty pasted a picture of the cottage and closed the book.

"I saw something in the shrubbery too." Lifty advised. "We can use the lawn shears to cut the plants."

"Great idea Lifty." Shifty praised his brother.

Lifty took out the shears and started cutting at the plants. When they were fully cut, the boys found a puzzle.

"What are we suppose to do with this puzzle?" Lifty asked.

"I got this one brother." Shifty took place in front of the puzzle. "It's easy, all's you gotta do is moved the lines into a path to light the bulbs."

It didn't take Shifty long at all to figure out the puzzle. Once the puzzle was figured out, a door opened and inside, was a sun charm.

"Great work Shifty." Lifty commented. "You found the sun charm for the secret passage."

"Did you find anything that might be useful while I was working on the puzzle?" Shifty asked.

"I found a pickaxe."

"That might come in handy. Come on, let's open the secret door."

The boys left the garden and went back into the house.

"Ok brother, place the charms into their rightful places." Shifty instructed.

Lifty did as told and the charms began to glow.

"Now, it seems that some sort of Z goes next to the moon."

"I got it." Lifty placed the Z next to the moon.

"Now, for the sun, a question mark with a dot over it."

"Right here."

Lifty placed the sign next to the sun and pulled the lever. The oren began to glow and suddenly, there was a cranking noise. The raccoons watched in awe as the fire in the fireplace dissapeared and opened a passage below the house.

"We did it!" Lifty cried.

"Let's go." Shifty suggested and they both went downstairs.


End file.
